absentee

See also: absentée

English

Etymology

absent +‎ -ee

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌæb.sn̩ˈti/
• Rhymes: -iː

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

absentee (plural absentees)

1. A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
2. (chiefly British, historical) A landholder who lives in another district or country than the one in which his estate is situated. [First attested in the early 17^th century.]
   • 1840, Lord Byron, “Letter 374: to Mr. Moore (24 May 1820)”, in John Murray, editor, The Works of Lord Byron: With His Letters and Journals, and His Life, page 317:

     My trustees are going to lend Earl Blessington sixty thousand pounds (at six per cent.) on a Dublin mortgage. Only think of my becoming an Irish absentee!

3. One that is nonexistent or lacking.
4. A voter that is not present at the time of voting; absentee voter. [First attested in the early 20^th century.]

Derived terms

• absentee ballot
• absenteeist
• absentee ownership
• absenteeship
• absentee vote
• absentee voting
• presentee

 

Related terms

• absenteeism

Translations

person who is absent

• Dutch: afwezige (nl)
• Finnish: poissaoleva (fi)
• French: absent (fr) m
• Gallurese: assenti
• German: Abwesender m, Abwesende f
• Greek: απών (el) m (apón)
• Italian: assente (it)
• Maori: kaitakē
• Portuguese: ausente (pt) m or f
• Russian: отсу́тствующий (ru) m (otsútstvujuščij)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese Sardinian: ausente, stesiau

  Logudorese Sardinian: ausente

• Sassarese: assenti
• Spanish: ausente (es) m or f

landholder who doesn't live where his estate is

• Portuguese: absentista m or f

one that is nonexistent or lacking

• Finnish: poissaoleva (fi)

voter that is not present at the time of voting — see absentee voter

Adjective

absentee (not comparable)

1. (attributive) Pertaining to someone who is absent, for example does not live in the relevant local area, sometimes implying that they are difficult to contact, unresponsive, avoiding their responsibilities, etc. [First attested in the mid 19^th century.]

   absentee father, absentee landlord, absentee freeholder

Translations

pertaining to one who is absent

• Finnish: poissaoleva (fi)

References

• absentee in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
• “absentee”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “absentee”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.